This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Pipe, conduit, tubing, or hose clamps (generally referred to as tubing clamps), are used to secure elongated sections of pipe, conduit, tubing, or hose to a support structure.
An example of a prior art clamp assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,296, issued May 14, 1985, by inventor Clarence A. Sherman, which is incorporated herein by reference. The patented clamp assembly includes a cushion insert for indirectly engaging the tubing through the elastomeric cushion insert which particularly encircles the tubing and is retained within the clamp assembly as illustrated in FIG. 1.
Cushions for clamp assemblies can deteriorate after a number of years of use, and there is a need to be able to efficiently replace cushions currently in use by customers. Cushions disclosed in prior art cannot easily replace cushions currently in use. Tubing of the type that is paired to a support structure by a cushioned clamp assembly is typically substantially fixed in spatial relation to the support structure. This is due to other clamp assemblies that secure the tubing to adjacent support structures or other structural features of the environment in which the tubing is located. If the need arises to replace the cushion portion of any particular clamp assembly, the clamp halves must be removed and the cushion must be cut or otherwise extracted from the existing tubing and support structure. A new or replacement cushion must be placed around the tubing that is in the fixed spatial relationship to the support structure. The configurations or arrangements of prior known cushions make it impractical to use them as the replacement cushion in such instances.
Accordingly, there is a need for improvements to the design of cushions for tubing clamp assemblies that are capable of replacing worn out cushions without changing the spatial relationship of the tubing and the support structure.